Exploring Dawn

I’ve always had a purse problem, going back decades. I always was searching for that one perfect bag. Thankfully, I’ve finally come to realize that there is no one perfect bag but there are many great bags. It depends on the occasion. Over the last couple of years, I’ve bought two, inexpensive everyday bags. I also have a cute little green clutch for nice evenings out. I even got my first grown-up purse, a Coach I picked up this summer. It wasn’t expensive but it was definitely a step up in quality of material and presentation.

Now, I needed a bag for the gym. My old nylon bag was getting old and also was way too small. Thanks for a recommendation from a close friend, I checked out Baggu nylon bags. Their brand-new duffel just dropped about a month ago and it is perfect for what I was looking for! A great size, cute as all get out, easy to clean if it gets dirty or something spills in it. I got mine in the Black and Cream Polka Dot print and it did not disappoint. Looked great this morning with my workout outfit and handily held a large wallet, sunglasses case, reading glasses, keys, water bottle and my ¼-zip while I worked out.

Who’d have thought a new purse would make going to the gym fun again! 🤣

I got a new purse that I wanted to use for the gym and maybe times during the summer. It’s my first Baggu bag (I’ll blog about it soon). But, I got my new bag while I was in the middle of having a mild case of the flu. So, no gym, no going out, no fun. Boo!

But, today, I’ve been better for three days and I was so looking forward to the gym and a real workout! I got up, brushed my teeth, dressed in a cute workout outfit and headed to my home office to pack up my new bag! I put in my water bottle (room!) and my wallet (room!) and keys (special pocket!). Even could fit an extra sunglasses case since it was nice and bright this morning (a good omen).

So, quick drive to the gym, checked in, on my machine, and … no phone! I forgot to pack my phone since I was so excited about my new purse and I didn’t think about packing my phone in there. Ack!

First, I use my phone to play music while I work out. I was able to substitute my Apple Watch, which happily seemed to have synced over my latest workout playlist I just created. Whew! But, I also read my email and RSS feeds while I work out, and even sometimes play the puzzles in Apple News+. I was worried about keeping myself occupied on an elliptical for 50 minutes without distractions.

Turns out, I did fine. I people-watched and also scooped out the various TVs that play in the front of the gym. Not really into morning shows, sports or HGTV, but my workout, powered by my playlist, made the time go by normally.

What’s even more interesting is that this is probably the first time in years that I left home without my phone/internet connection. Like I just said, I was able to enjoy my workout fine but after finishing, I clicked my watch to check out the temperature outside to see if I needed to put my ¼-zip back on. It was chilly when I went to the gym and definitely needed it then. All I got was a hollowed-out phone image on my watch with a slash through it showing me I didn’t have a connection. But, I braved the weather and it was fine without the top and I got home and was reunited with my phone.

A second, more worrisome, issue was that I didn’t have my phone and my honey was home sick. I worried about her trying to contact me and having the phone ringing 3 feet away instead of on my person. Most of the time, we don’t need constant connectivity/online access. But, I did worry about not being in contact with her in case she needed me. Luckily, she was fine and recuperating safely when I got home.

After about a year away from Things 3, I’ve come back to try it again. I have some rather complex projects now that I didn’t before, e.g. book publishing and exciting transition-related projects.

Apple Reminders is a great app for simple things but it wasn’t detail-oriented enough for this level of work. This time, however, I realize I won’t be getting rid of one to use the other. I’ll keep using Apple Reminders for location-based reminders (so amazing for shopping, etc.) and also for the kanban view I love for my packing & prep lists for travel.

Things 3 has a better iOS widget too. Cleaner look, display options are better and I can’t accidentally check something completed using Things widget.

I will miss embedding images into a reminder and having a dedicated URL entry item that Reminders provides.

We shall see how long this experiment lasts. I’m excited. And hoping to be productive and use a tool not fight with it.

I thought it’d be fun to list how I go about “expressing” myself these days. I’ve seen lots of bloggers talk about why they blog, and I wanted to give it a go, or at least my flavor of it. Here are ways I express my thoughts and the forums I do it through.

First, I have always journaled. I had a diary when I was little, including a cute blush-colored diary with a little latch lock and tiny key. I wish I still had it. I have no idea what happened to it. After that, I kept paper journals for years, and then moved to Day One and finally landed on Apple’s Journal (since I live in Apple’s ecosystem full-time with my tech). Journal entries are personal. They are often deep-felt thoughts that I might not want to share with others but I want to record. I don’t go back and read my journal that often; however, I think the act of writing it down helps me process emotions and situations. Most of my writing, including my poetry and fiction, are ways I process my life. It’s not just a story I’m telling, but something more holistic.

Second, sometimes I want to post something that’s not long form, maybe a shout-out to a friend or about something I like. I usually use BlueSky for that. Now, I do have my Micro.blog entries cross-posted to BlueSky, so this is another way I use BlueSky.

Third, for fun, life, transition-related, reading or things like that, I use Micro.blog. I love Micro.blog. It allows me to be short-winded, long-winded, image-heavy, or just plain old text. I love the customization options for my blog and just the ease of use whether I’m on my iPhone or my Mac. It’s a great service and I keep my fingers crossed it keeps on truckin’! Shout out to Manton!

Fourth, Coupled with Micro.blog is their book tracking (also movies & TV) feature. I use their Epilogue app (or the web interface) to keep track of books I’m reading or have read. I love that it can autopost updates to my blog, or I can write a full entry myself about a book I’m reading or have finished. I also use the Book Tracker app (iOS/macOS) to track all of my reading and like Apple Journal, I sometimes keep my reviews or thoughts on a book private.

Finally, I self-publish some of my writing. I published my first collection of poetry, Becoming, earlier this year. I’m almost finished editing the follow-up to that, which I’m calling Being. I have a few other projects that are in the queue once I get this new collection published.

I hope this was interesting and maybe gives people a few ideas to try on their own.